German unemployment increases slightly in November

BERLIN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of the jobless in Germany rose slightly for the fourth consecutive month in November, official data showed on Thursday.

Compared with October, the people out of job in Germany increased by 5,000 to 2.806 million in November, said the Nuremberg-based Federal Labour Agency(BA).

Adjusted for seasonal variations, number of unemployed Germans rose by 10,000 over the previous month. Jobless rate, however, remained unchanged at 6.9 percent.

Year on year, available job demands in November decreased by 20,000 to 431,000, BA data showed.

"Overall, the labor market has remained in line of development of the previous months," said BA chairman Frank-J. Weise.

Against the backdrop of a slow growth in the euro zone, German economy relied more and more on domestic demands. Following a stagnation in the first quarter and a growth of 0.7 percent in the second, gross domestic product (GDP) in the Europe's largest economy expanded by only 0.3 percent from July to September.

According to a coalition agreement clinched Wednesday among German main parties, a national minimum wage of 8.50 euros (11.9 U.S. dollars) per hour would be introduced from January 2015, despite previous warning from economic institutes that the policy might destroy jobs.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier that she would try to prevent job losses caused by the move.

BERLIN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- German unemployment fell in February for a third month in a row, as economic expectations for the eurozone powerhouse keep brightening, figures issued by Federal Labor Agency showed on Thursday.

The Nuremberg-based agency put the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 6.9 percent in February, just a tad above the 6.8 percent record low in post-reunification history. Full story